Song 02: "Put The Bucket Down" (1st February 2026)

Bright-Side Mix
Dark-Side Mix

overview of the o\i article series

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The second song for o\i had been known for some time, at least by its title. (Interestingly, this was also the case with the second song on i/o.) As early as 2023, Put The Bucket Down was found on several lists for music licensing and exploitation, and it was then expected that the track would be included on i/o. As we know, it wasn't, and so it was a hot candidate for the follow-up. Now it's here.

This song is also part of Gabriel's brain project and this time deals extensively with the aspect of being able to read and write thoughts. The narrator in the track is not sure whether the thoughts in their head are their own or someone else's. Whether they are in their own head or in someone else's.

The eponymous "bucket" that needs to be "put down" is full of useless things that overwhelm us. In order to move forward, we need to leave it behind.

Gabriel says he is fascinated by the idea of being able to read and also write human thoughts. At the same time, however, he also sees the dangers of robbing people of their privacy and of being able to implant foreign ideas by writing them. And that the whole process can cause enormous confusion. The song is about this confusion.

Lyrics

The image begins on a beach and observations at the water's edge. Various allusions are scattered throughout (with "tied to the rock" perhaps referring to Prometheus?) and overall, the narrator is unsettled, unsure of what exactly it is they are experiencing here. Whether it belongs to them or to someone else. In the short interlude, this is also clearly articulated: "Whose mind is this?"

A kind of pre-chorus then conjures up the aforementioned bucket with an ominous "Oh". The actual chorus then reiterates how much incomprehensible stuff is actually going through the narrator's mind. But also: "The less you have, the more you can make of it". So the bucket should be put down.

And for those who enjoy this kind of thing: the text structure is verse, interlude, verse – then pre-chorus, chorus, pre-chorus. In the second pass, verse, interlude and verse are repeated – but then it's chorus, pre-chorus, chorus. While an instrumental section follows after that first chorus.

Artwork

Once again, the artist behind one of the works of art comes from South America. Tomás Saraceno was born in Argentina and what he has provided is called Cosmic Spider/Web (2019).

To be precise, it is a photograph of an object that Saraceno created with the help of spiders, which wove webs along metal elements throughout an entire room. The result is structures that bear a striking resemblance to the cosmic forms of galaxies.

Saraceno was born in 1973 and studied art and architecture in Buenos Aires and Frankfurt. In Italy, he took part in a course taught by Olafur Elliasson (who also contributed a work of art to i/o), among others. In the summer of 2009, he also took part in the International Space Studies Programme of the NASA. Saraceno has been living in Germany since 2001.

Contemporary living and lifestyle are his themes – but he also repeatedly explores cosmic structures and sound installations.

Gabriel says there seems to be a connection between spider webs, forms in nature and the perceptions of the brain, which is why he feels the photo fits the song.

More about the album artwork and the artists behind in our separate article.

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Bright-Side Mix – 1st Februar 2026

Words and Music by Peter Gabriel
Published by Real World Music Ltd / Sony Music Publishing
Produced by Peter Gabriel
Mixed by Mark 'Spike' Stent
Engineering by Oli Jacobs, Katie May, Dom Shaw, Faye Dolle
Assistant engineering by Charles Hughes
Additional engineering by Tim Bruzon, Antonello D'Urso
Orchestral engineering by Lewis Jones
Orchestral assistant engineering by Tom Coath, Luie Stylianou
Pre-production engineering by Richard Chappell
Mastered by Matt Colton at Metropolis Studios
Recorded at Real World Studios, Bath and The Beehive, London, British Grove, London, Fonoprint Studios, Bologna

Rhythm Programming – Peter Gabriel, Brian Eno, Oli Jacobs, Richard Chappell
Bass – Tony Levin
Keyboard bass – Peter Gabriel
Electric Guitar – David Rhodes
Acoustic Guitar – Katie May
Trumpet – Paolo Fresu, Josh Shpack
French Horn – Josh Shpack
Piano & synths – Peter Gabriel
Backing vocals – Peter Gabriel, David Rhodes, Ríognach Connolly, Melanie Gabriel
Vocals – Peter Gabriel

Orchestral arrangement by John Metcalfe, with Peter Gabriel
New Blood Orchestra
Violin – Everton Nelson, Richard George, Natalia Bonner, Cathy Thompson, Debbie Widdup, Odile Ollagnon, Ian Humphries, Louisa Fuller, Martin Burgess, Clare Hayes, Charles Mutter, Marianne Hayne
Viola – Bruce White, Rachel Roberts, Fiona Bonds, Peter Lale
Flute – Eliza Marshall
Cello – Ian Burdge, Caroline Dale, Tony Woollard, Chris Worsey, William Schofield, Chris Allan
Double bass – Chris Laurence, Lucy Shaw, Stacey Watton

Length 6:47

A challenging piece that is not easily consumed. Its structure seems confusing, even though it actually follows a continuous line.

Music

At the beginning, we hear a rather darker, pounding rhythm loop for four bars. This is abruptly replaced by a lighter, more complex loop that seems completely different. In fact, they build on each other and can also be played together. Gabriel says he built elements around something he calls an "lopside loop" and enjoyed developing it further.

Rhythm structures of this kind run continuously throughout the entire song, varying occasionally. They are flexible in detail (percussion interjections, Levin's bass figures), but static in their overall effect. Despite the well-shuffling groove.

This also applies to the harmonic accompaniment, which initially remains in one key. Or to the verse melody (initially in spoken song anyway), which is hardly comprehensible. The interlude ('Oh, oh, oh, oh…') brings some variety, but no real movement.

For the listener, all of this is demanding – which fits the situation of the character experiencing it. There is vibration, tension – but no real excitement.

The first harmony change comes quite late in the actual chorus, which then swings into a moving arc. This fits the realisation and decision of this passage.

Gabriel calls the instrumental part after the second chorus a "dream sequence". In fact, a lot changes here for a short time. The dense percussion loop gradually fades out (leaving only the pounding from the beginning), sustained keyboard sounds set in – and even the sound of ocean waves becomes audible. This is overlaid by a spherical trumpet solo, which becomes two-part from the middle onwards.

As it fades away, the familiar groove resumes, returning to the previous structure, which is now slightly condensed towards the end with various elements.

Personnel

The regular band can be heard again (the recordings must still be from 2021/22). Gabriel says, as with Been Undone, that the band is the bulk of the song.

In addition, if you listen closely, you can also hear orchestral accompaniment. Unlike on i/o, it is only subtle, following the vocal line of the chorus in unison. Only in the very last repetition does it become a little more playful.

For the trumpet solo, Gabriel has two musicians, each of whom recorded their own version. One is Paolo Fresu, who was already featured on i/o (quite inconspicuously in Live And Let Live), and the other is Josh Shpack, who was part of the i/o Tour. One of these two solos can be heard in the Bright-Side Mix, the other in the Dark-Side Mix. Here it is Josh Shpack.

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Author: Thomas Schrage

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Links
Introductory video for Put The Bucket Down (including a statement on the political world situation at the end of January 2026):

Background info about the song on petergabriel.com
Website of Tomás Saraceno

Discuss this track in this thread in our forum.

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